About Ben Smith (rugby union)
Benjamin Robert Smith (born 1 June 1986) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player, currently working for Super Rugby side Highlanders' management team. He formerly played for the Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition, Otago in the ITM Cup, Pau in the Top 14 and Kobelco Steelers in the Japan Rugby League One. Smith made his international debut for New Zealand in 2009, playing 84 tests from then until the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He was a key member of the 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning team. Smith was vice-captain of the All Blacks from 2016 to 2017 and captained the team once, against Samoa in 2017. He scored 39 tries for New Zealand throughout his international career, placing him amongst the all-time leading try scorers. He normally played as an outside back, but has also previously played as a centre and halfback. Smith holds the international record (tied with seven English) of winning 14 games in a season; he was the only All Blacks player to play every match of 2013 in which all games were won, signifying a perfect season. On 5 December 2013, Smith won the Super Rugby Player of the Year award for the 2013 Super Rugby season. In 2017, Smith played his 127th game for the Highlanders in their Round 15 22–25 loss to the Crusaders, equalling Anton Oliver's record for the most capped Highlander ever. Smith made his test debut for the All Blacks against Italy on 14 November 2009 at the San Siro, Milan, which the All Blacks won 20–6.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.